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Thousands of people living with HIV, HIV/AIDS organizations, unions, student groups, faith communities and other activists mobilize to fight AIDS and for economic justice!
Washington (24 July 2012) - Tens of thousands of protesters will be taking to the streets of Washington, D.C. to demand that the world's governments take immediate steps to end the AIDS crisis. One of the key demands of the protest is to implement a financial transactions tax, commonly referred to as the Robin Hood Tax.
The protest takes place during the International AIDS Conference. In the call out for the rally, organizers say that:
"We deserve a world in which the lives and health of our communities are prioritized over corporations and ideology. Yet we see the opposite across the United States, in Washington, D.C., and throughout the world. We have the science, the treatment, and the resources to end the AIDS epidemic, but not the political will. We demand change... join people living with HIV and HIV/AIDS organizations, unions, student groups, faith communities, and other activists as we mobilize to fight AIDS and for economic justice!"
Protesters plan to gather at key locations to expose the flow of money that funds harmful policies and legislators. All the issue-based groups will eventually converge at the intersection where the White House, Treasury Department and the National Chamber of Commerce sit.
Key demands include:
- make Wall Street pay: Tax the global one per cent to stop cuts to AIDS services in the U.S. and around the world;
- stop big pharma greed and government officials who deny access to medicine;
- expose Right wing leaders (and their corporate funders) who ban syringe exchange, impede safe sex and fan the war on drugs;
- call out those committing violence against women by denying access to AIDS and reproductive healthcare; and
- demand the U.S. Congress provide the policy & funding for housing, health care, harm reduction, etc.
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